Apparatus for making ice



y 1945- w. B. KIRKPATRICK APPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE Filed Oct. 18, 1944 3Sheets-Sheet l ArrdF/YE) y 1946. w. B. KIRKPATRICK APPARATUS FOR MAKINGICE Filed Oct. 18, 1944 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 1946- w. B. KIRKPATRICKAPPARATUS FOR MAKING ICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 18', 1944 INVENTOR.IV/zz /s j AZwraw-xmm Patented May 21, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEv Willis 1;. Kirkpatrick, Scarsdale, N. Y. Application October 18,1944,Serial No. 559,302

12 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of ice, and this applicationis a continuation in part of my application serial No. 499,914, filedAugust 25. 1943. p

The principal object of the present. invention is. to provide a new andimproved apparatus for making can ice economically and in large volumewith a minimum of maintenance and supervision.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ice making machine'ofthe above type which produces cakes of uniform size with flat squaretops, without the use of special apparatus for measuring and supplyingrefrigerated water to the ice cans as in the past.

A further object is to manufacture clear can ice from raw water withoutthe use of aeration I or mechanical agitators such as are usuallyrequired to influence the crystallization of ice in a form clear enoughto be merchantable.

Still another object is to provide an ice making machine of the abovetype which thaws the frozen cakes of ice from the cans and automaticallydischarges them onto a delivery chute or conveyor, thus eliminating theuse of cranes and other expensive equipment whichhave heretofore beenused for this purpose.

My improved apparatus comprises a tank containing the raw water or otherliquid to be frozen. and a revoluble carrier partially immersed in theliquid in the tank and carrying a plurality of ice cans arrangedradially like the spokes of a wheel with the tops of the cans at theouter periphery of the wheel. The interior of the revolubl carrier,comprising the space between the walls of the cans, is closed off fromthe tank and contains the refrigerating medium or brine. In theembodiment illustrated herein, the brine is conveyed to and from theinterior of the carrier through a hollow revoluble shaft which supportsthe carrier.

According to a feature of the invention the frozen, and it will beevident to those skilled in the art that it is much easier to fill asingle tank of this sort than to separately fill a large number ofstationary cans standing in a conventional brine tank. After the tank ischarged, the refrigerant is circulated and the carrier is rotated. Asthe carrier continues to rotate, the liquid in the various cans freezesprogressively inwardly from the walls thereof, leaving a graduallydecreasing pool of liquid in each partially formed cake of ice, and thelevel of the liquid in the tank is low enough to causethese pools ofliquid to flow out through the holes in the can shutters and slop overinto the tank as each can reaches an inclined position above such liquidlevel. Since the liquid, in freezing, throws oif occluded salts andother impurities, these impurities are continuously discharged from thecans as the gradually diminishing pools of water slop over into the tankduring the continued rotation of the carrier.

The rotation of the carrier causes the continuous agitation ofthe'liquld in the tank and in the cans, thus insuring the formation ofclear ice without the use of special aeration or stirring devices whichhave heretofore been necessary to prevent the-formation of objectionablewhite or cloudy cakes. Upon the completion of the freezing operation thetemperature ofthe refrigerant circulating about the cans may be raisedwillciently to'thaw the seal between the cans-and the ice cakes,permitting the cakes to force open the shutters on the tops of the cansand to be discharged through a door in the side wall of the tank.

Although thenovel features which are characteristic of this inventionare set forth more in detail in the claims appendedhereto, the natureand scope of the invention may be better understood by referring to thefollowing description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings forming a part thereof, in which a specific embodiment has beenset forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through an ice-making machineembodying the invention:

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2- of Fig. 1, withportions of the apparatus broken away to simplify the showing,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing or f the ice canswith its hinged shutters:

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the ice cans, showing the hingedshutters in the normal closed position; and

Fig. is a fragmentary side view of the machine, showing the dischargedoor in closed position.

In the following description certain specific terms are used forconvenience in referring to the various details of the invention. Theseterms, however, are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the artwill permit.

The apparatus illustrated herein by way of example comprises a tank l ofrectangular crosssection set 'in the floor or foundation 2 of an iceplant, and having insulated side and end walls 3 and 4, respectively,and a suitable cover 5 for closing the top.

The raw water or other liquid to be frozen may be admitted through asuitable hose or pipe at the top of the tank; and the residue remainingafter the freezing operation may be discharged through an outlet pipe 6disposed at the bottom of the tank and provided with a control valve Ias shown in Fig. 2.

The revoluble carrier 3 supporting the ice cans is mounted on a hollowshaft 3 which extends through the end walls 4 of tank I and is Journaledin bearings Ill anchored in the floor 2 of the plant as shown in Fig. 1.Suitable glands or stufling boxes l2 are provided to insure a tight sealbetween the tank and the revoluble shaft 3.

The carrier 8 comprises a pair of insulated end walls I3 secured toshaft 3 by flanged sleeves I4; and a plurality of skeleton wheels havinghubs l6 surrounding shaft 3, spokes l1, and a polygonal rim l3 which ishere shown to be in the form of a regular decagon with each of its tensides supporting the base of an ice can 20.

frame 3|, resembling picture frame, having a 1 marginal flange 32, theframe 3| resting on the In the embodiment illustrated, the ice cans 23 Iare one hundred in number, there being ten aligned cans in each fileextending lengthwise of the machine as viewed in Fig. l, and ten cans ineach circumferential bank as viewed in the transverse section of Fig. 2,although it will be understood that the number and arrangement of cansmay vary widely'as desired. The side and end walls ofthe various icecans are all tapered or flared slightly so as to be widest at the top orouter ends, in order to facilitate the discharge of the formed cakes ofice as hereinafter described.

' The bases of the ice cans 20 are rigidlysecured to the rims l3 oftheir respective supporting ,wheels. as by welding. The spaces betweenthe outer rims of the adjacent cans, and between the cans of each fileand the adjacent end wall (3 of carrier 8, are sealed by water-tightrubber gaskets 22. Formed integral with the side walls of the cans 20are metal extensions or plates 23 of triangular cross-section containingsuitable insulating material 24, as best shown in Fig. 3. It will benoted that the angular plates 23 join the outer rims of the cans 20 atsharp angles, thus forming unobstructed areas 25 for the circulation ofrefrigerant about the outer perimeters of the various ice cans.

gasket 22 which surrounds the outer rim of the can 20 while the flange32 is secured to th walls of the adjacent insulating blocks 21.

A pair of flat, apertured closures or shutters 34 and 35 are hinged, asby' spring-actuated hinges 33, to opposite parallel sides of each frame3!, the shutters 34 and 35 of each pair lying flush with and closing theouter rim of the adjacent ice can 23. The spring-actuated hinges 36normally hold the shutters 34 and 35 in the closed position illustratedin the drawings (see Figs. 3 and 4), the shutters being adapted to openoutwardly, as illustrated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3, to dischargethe cakes of ice at the conclusion of the thawing operation, ashereinafter described. In practice I have made the frames 3| andshutters 34 and 35 of hard rubber, although it will be understood thatthey may be made of any other suitable material.

One of the shutters 34 of each pair is preferably somewhat wider thanthe other shutter 35 of the pair, thus bringing their line of contactaway from the center of the can, which has proven advantageous infreezing the water in the cup or core of the ice cake. The shutters 34and 35 contain a plurality of holes or perforations 33 which permit thewater to flow into and out of the cans 23 through the closed shuttersduring the freezing operation. These holes 33 may be of any desiredconfiguration and they may be spaced in any suitable manner, but I havefound it advantageous to provide a plurality of closely spaced holes(such as the holes 33 in Fla. 4) grouped about that region of the widershutter 34 which overlies the center of the can where the graduallydiminishing cup of water is formed during the freezing operation.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the interior of the revolublecarrier 3, comprising the space 40 between the bottom, side and endwalls of the ice cans 20, is completely closed off from Metal blocks 21containing suitable insulating 7 material 28 are welded to the flat endsof the metal plates 23 so as to occupy the spaces between the outer rimsof the adjacent cans 23 in a circumferential direction about thecarrier, as

circulation of refrigerant through the enclosure 43 the hollow shaft 3is partitioned at the center by a suitable plug 4|, while the enclosure40 itself is partly closed off by a central partition or baffle plate42, and the hollow shaft 3 is provided with suitable openings 43 and 44,respectively, on opposite sides of the partition 42, as shown in Fig. l.The refrigerant is circulated continuously, entering shaft 3 throughpipe 45, flooding the portion of enclosure 40 to the left of partition42 as viewed in Fig. 1, and passing over the periphery of partition 42into the right-hand portion of enclosure 43, whence the refrigerantpasses through open-' ings 44 in shaft 3 to the return pipe 46 of thecirculatory system. During the freezing operation the enclosure 40 is atall times filled with refrigerant which completely fills the spacesbetween the ice cans as shown in Fig. 2.

In operation, the tank I is filled to the desired level with the rawwater to be frozen, and in Fig. 2

the tank is shown about half filled, or what cor-- responds to the(Ii-o'clock position on a clock dial. After the tank is charged, therefrigerant is circulated in the manner described above, and

the carrier 3 is rotated as by means of a driving gear 41 which is keyedto shaft 3 as shown in quent stacking and handling. Upon the com-Fig. 1. Rotation may be in either a clockwise or counter-clockwisedirection as viewed in- Fig. 2.

t the carrier continues to rotate, the-liquid in the various cans 20freezes progressively inwardly from the walls thereof, leaving agradually de creasing pool of liquid in each partially formed cake ofice. The level of the liquid in the tank I is low enough to cause thesepools of liquid to flow out through the perforated shutters 34-35 on thecans and slop over into the tank as each can reaches an inclinedposition above such liquid level. The liquid, in freezing, throws overcluded salts and other impurities, so that these impurities arecontinuously discharged from the cans as the gradually diminishing poolsof water slop over into the tank during the continued rotation ofthecarrier. Even in the final stages of freezing the pools of water inthe upper central portions of the ice cakes are readily dischargedthrough the grouped holes 30 in shutters I}.

The rotation of the carrier 8 causes the continuous agitation of thewater in tank land in the cans' 20, which results in the formation ofclear ice without the use of aerating or stirring devices. Furthermore,the rotation of the carrier also insures adequate agitation of therefrigerant between the walls of the ice cans as the refrigerantcontinues to circulate in the manner described above. The operationcontinues in the manner described until the completion of the freezingoperation, at which time the cakes of ice are all uniformly frozen andare separate from each other due :to the fact that the insulated areas24 and 28, between the upper perimeter-s of adjacent ice cans preventthe formation of connectingsheets of ice and also prevent the formationof ice about the hinges 36 of shutters 34-35. At the same time, theunobstructed areas 25 surrounding said insulated areas 24 insure theproper freezing of the contents of the cans up to the top. The shutters3l35, being closed during the freezing operation, insure the formationof flat square tops on the ice cakes, greatly improving their appearanceand facilitating subsepletion of the freezing operation the temperatureof the refrigerant circulating throughout the enclosure 40 maybe raisedslightly to thaw the seal between the cans and the ice cakes, permittingthe cakes to be dislodged from the cans and discharged from the machinein a manner which will now" be described.

For discharging the formed cakes of ice from a g the cans, I provide anelongated rectangular opening 50 in one of the side walls 3 of tank I.

This opening. is slightly longer than the file of ten ice cans, and itis adapted to be closed by a door which is secured to the side wall 3 bysuitable hasps 52 and'opens upwardly as will be evident from Figs. 2 and5. The door Si is adapted to be locked in closed position by swivellatches "(and is made water-tight by a rubber or other suitable packingll. t

When the temperature of the refrigerant is raised to' thaw theseal'between the cans and the ice cakes it will be evident that all ofthe cakes will be thawed simultaneously. In order to prevent the cakesfrom being dislodged prematurely before they reach the open door ll, aguard comprising a plurality of arcuate metal rods 50 is sepured withinthe tank about the lower periph ral portion of the rotary carrier I,,the said rods ll terminating in inclines I! for guiding the freed cakesof ice through the open a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, thethawed cakes of ice will emerge from the cans 2i and force the hingedshutters 34-35 -out-\ wardly when said cakes reach. an inclined p'osi-'tion slightly below the "ii-o'clock" position men-.

tioned above.- The descent of the partly protruding cakes. however, willbe arrested by the arcuate rods M, and, as the carrier 1 continues torotate, said cakes will be carried around in contact with the rods lluntil they reach the inclines 51 which guide the cakes out through theopening 0 of door ll onto the platform ll.

-When it is desired to discharge the formed cakes of ice from the cans20, all ten cans of one file or row are discharged at one time. At thecompletion of the freezing operation, the water remaining in tank I isdrawn off through outlet pipe 8, after-which the door II is opened. Aspreviously explained, the temperature or .the refrigerant circulatingthrough the system .is

raised sufficiently to thaw the seal between the cans and the ice cakes,and the-cakes, being tapered slightly to facilitate dislodgment, are nowready to be discharged. As the various flies of cans arrive. at thedischarging position adiacent the open door, the cakes of ice slide downthe inclines "onto the platform 58 as described above.

One important advantage of the foregoing apparatus is that it effects aconsiderable saving in floor space; the usuai'system, of stationaryfreezing tanks requires approximately 37 square feet of floor space perton of ice-making capacity, whereas my improved machine requires no morethan 20 square feet/officer space per ton of ice-making capacity.

My apparatus also makes it possible to reduce;

the freezing time by nearly 40%. With ordinary freezing tanks such asare commonly employed in the industry, from 40 ,to hours are usuallyrequired to freeze a cake of ice, whereas my ap paratus can freeze acake of ice in about 24 hours. Furthermore, a substantial saving of timei effected in thawing the ice off since iii my machine containing, forexample, one hundred cans, theice can be thawed of! in the timepreviously required to thaw'offja single row of say 20 cans, from astationary brine tank. My machine also reduces the thawing off orharvesting period from a more or less continuous daily operation to afew minutes time, resulting in a saving of labor and a very greatlyincreased ef ilciency in the freezing surface employed. Time requiresno'brine agitation, since this is provided for by the rotation of the.revolublecarrier which thus eliminates the use of mechanical agitatorssuch as are required in other freezins systems. My apparatus,furthermore, does not require agitation of the water in the cans toproduce clear. cakes of ice, as this agitation is also provided by therotation of the carrier. This notonly does away with air compressors,but also with the dehydration of the air. A considerable amount ofequipment is required in connection with the furnishing of dehydratedairto each can in stationary tank freezing systems.

The apparatus described above also eliminates the necesaityfor raisingthe cans out of freezin'gtanks, and it likewise eliminates the necessitydoor it. Assuming that the carrier 8 rotates in of transporting the icecans by means of hoists.

changers, to only 38 to 40 F. The internal temperature of the cakes ofice, which is usually about 17 F. with F. brine, is raised to themelting point or nearly so if exposed for a prolonged period to, say, 651". water in a dip tank; whereas with my machine the ice is thawed fromthe side and bottom surfaces of the cans in approximately one minute,which results in maintaining theinternal temperature of the ice at orabout 17 F. which temperature refrigerates the entire cake and keeps itfrom melting for a long period of time, b

My invention also eliminates the necessity-for employing special dumpingdevices to dump the ice out of the cans, since the ice cakes willreadily 1 leave the cans whenthey reach the dumping position. Of course,all the ice cakes will be 'thawed off at the same time, but the arcuate'guard previously described controls the discharge of the ice cakes andenables each row of cakes to be discharged when the correct dumpingposition is reached.-

In ordinary stationary freezing tanks it is necessary to suck thecore-water out while the cakes are about half frozen, and then refillthe cores with fresh water. This is unnecessaryin my machine since thecores will be secured at two points of the circle during the rotation ofthe carrier as described above. An additional advantage of my apparatusis that it eliminates the necessity for handling covers for theindividual ice cans as is required'in previous ice-making apparatus.

It will be evident to those skilled in the art that various changesmaybe made in the details of construction and method of operation describedherein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. Apparatus for makingice comprising a tank adapted to contain a liquidto be frozen, a revoluble carrier including an ice can mounted in saidtank with its outer end positioned to admit a body of said liquid fromsaid tank and having bottom and side walls extending into and forming apermanent part of a compartment for a refrigerant, and means on theouter end of said can controlling the passage of liquid, alternately,into and out of said can and for shaping the top of the ice formedtherein during the freezing operation.

g 2. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier including an ice can mounted insaid tank with its outer end positioned to admit a body of said liquidfrom said tank and having bottom and side walls extending into and-form-'ing a permanent part of a compartment for a refrigerant, and anapertured closure for the outer end of said can permitting the passageof liquid therethrough and limiting the level of the ice formed in saidcan. c

3. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier including an ice can mounted insaid tank with its outer end positioned to admit a body immersed in theliquid in said tank with the outer ends of said cans positioned to admita body of said liquid from'said tank and the bottom and side walls ofsaid cans extending into and forming a permanent part of a chamber forthe circulation of a refrigerant about said cans, shutadapted to containa liquid to be frozen, a revo1u-. ble carrier including a plurality ofice cans partly 1 immersed in the liquid in said tank with the outerends of said cans positioned to admit a body'of said liquid from saidtank and the bottom and side walls ofsaid cans extending into andforming a permanent part of a chamber for the circulation of arefrigerant about said cans, pairs of cooperating shutters mounted onsaid carrier and adapted'to close the outer ends of the respective cansand to open outwardly to release the ice'from said cans, said shutterscontaining apertures for the passage of liquid between said cans andsaid tank, means for rotating said carrier, and means for circulating arefrigerant through said refrigerant chamber.

6. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier including a plurality of.radially-disposed ice cans partly immersed in the liquid in said tankwith the outer ends of said cans positioned to admit a body of saidliquid from said tank and the bottom and side walls of said cans aboutsaid cans. means on the outer surface of said carrier between adjacentcans forming in-.

dividual open-ended compartments surrounding the outer ends of saidcans, pairs of cooperating shutters mounted on opposite sides of saidcompartments and adapted to lie flat against the outer ends of therespective can and to open outwardly to release the ice ,from said cans,said shutters containing a. plurality of apertures for the passage ofliquid between said cans andsaid tank, means for rotating said carrier,and means for circulating a refrigerant through said refrigerantchamber. W

'7. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier including a plurality ofradially-disposed ice cans partly immersed in the liquid in said tankwith the outer ends of said cans positioned to admit a body ofsaidliquid from said dividual open-ended compartmentssurrounding the outerends of said cans,- pairs of cooperating spring-actuated shutters hingedon opposite sides of said compartments and adapted to lie'flat againstthe outer ends of the respective cans and to open outwardly to releasethe ice from said cans, one shutter of each pair being wider than theother shutter of the pair to offset their line of contact from thecenter line of the can, said shutters containing a plurality ofapertures for the passage of liquid, between said cans and said tank andthe wider shutter of each pair containing a group of such apertures inthe region overlying the center of the can, means for rotating saidcarrier, and means for circulating a refrigerant through saidrefrigerant chamber.

8. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquidto be frozen. a revoluble carrier including a plurality ofradiallydisposed ice cans partly immersed in the liquid in said tankwith the outer ends'of said cans p sitioned to admit a body of saidliquid from said tank and the bottom and side walls of said cansextending into and forming a permanent part of a common chamber for thecirculation of a refrigerant about said cans, walls containinginsulating material on the outer surface of said carrier betweenadjacent cans forming individual open-ended rectangular compartmentssurrounding the outer ends of said cans, pairs of cooperatingspring-actuated shutters hinged on opposite sides of said compartmentsand adapted to lie flat against the outer ends of the respective cansand to open outwardly to release the ice from said cans, one shutter ofeach pair being wider than the other shutter of the pair to offset theirline of contact from the center line of the can, said shutterscontaining a plurality of apertures fon the refrigerant chamber.

10. Ap aratus for making ice comprising a tank adapted to contain aliquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier including a plurality of rowsof radially-disposed ice cans partly immersed in the liquid in said tankwith the outer ends of said cans positioned to admit a body of saidliquid from said tank and the bottom and side walls of said cansextending into and forming a permanent part of a common chamber for thecirculation of a refrigerant about said cans, insulation in said chamberin the spaces between the outer peripheries of 7 said cans spaced fromthe walls of the cans to V 9. Apparatus for making ice comprising a tankadapted to contain a liquid to be frozen, a revoluble carrier includinga plurality of rows of radially-disposed ice cans partly immersed in theliquid in said tank with the outer ends of said cans positioned to admita body of said liquid from said tank and the bottom and side walls ofsaid cans extending into and forming a permanent part of 'a commonchamber for the circulation of a refrigerant about said cans. insulationin said chamher in the space between the outer peripheries of said cansspaced from the walls of the cans to prevent the formation of connectingsheets of ice between adjacent cans while permitting access of therefrigerant to all parts of the can walls, walls containing insulatingmaterial on the outer surface of said carrier between adjacent cansformpair being wider than the other shutter of the pair to offset theirline of contact from the center line of the can, said shutterscontaining a outer end of said can, and a pair of cooperating preventthe formation of connecting sheets of ice between adjacent can whilepermitting access of the refrigerant to all-parts of the can walls,walls containing insulating material on the outer surface of saidcarrier between adjacent cans forming individual open-ended rectangularcompartmentssurrounding the outer ends of said cans. pairs ofcooperating spring-actuated shutters hinged on opposite sides 01' saidcompartments and adapted to lie flat against the outer ends of therespective cans and to open outwardly to release th ice from said cans,one shutter of each pair being widerthan the other shutter of the pairto oflset their line ofcontact from the center line of the can, saidshutters containing a plurality of apertures for the passage of liquidbetween cans and said tank and the wider shutter of each'pair containinga group of such apertures in the region overlying the center '0! thecan, a rotatable shaft supporting said carrier and containing a passagecommunicating with said refrigerant chamber for the circulation of therefrigerant therein, means for rotating said shaft, and means forcirculating a refrigerant through said passage and said chamber.

11. Apparatus for making ice comprising a can having bottom and sidewalls and having its outer end open to admit the liquid tobe frozen, anenlarged open-ended compartment surrounding the outer end of said can,and a pair of cooperating shutters mounted on opposite sides of saidcompartment and adapted to lie flat against the outer end 01' said canand to open outwardly to release the ice from said can, said shutterscontaining I apertures for the passage of liquid.

12. Apparatus for making ice comprising a can having bottom and sidewalls and having its outer end open to admit the liquid to be from, anenlarged open-ended compartment surroimding the spring-actuated shuttershinged on opposite sides of said compartment and adapted to lie flatagainst the outer end of said can and to open outwardly to release theice from said can, one shutter of said pair beingwider than the other tov offset their line of contact from the center line of the can, saidshutters containing a plurality of apertures for the passage of liquid,and the wider shutter of the pair containing a group of such aperturesoverlying the center of the can.

B. KIRKPATRICK.

